Celtics beat Knicks; Mavs and Magic also win

(Reuters) - The Boston Celtics overcame an inspired performance from Carmelo Anthony to beat the New York Knicks and take a 2-0 lead in their NBA playoff series on Tuesday, while Orlando and Dallas also grabbed victories.

Orlando's Dwight Howard, who scored 46 points in a Game One loss to the Hawks, poured in 33 points and grabbed 19 rebounds as the Magic beat Atlanta 88-82 to even their series at 1-1.

In Dallas, the Mavericks got 21 points off the bench from Peja Stojakovic to compliment 33 from Dirk Nowitzki as the home team held off the Portland Trail Blazers 101-89 to take a 2-0 series lead with Game Three set for Thursday in Portland.

With New York's Chauncey Billups out due to a sore knee and Amare Stoudemire sitting out the second half because of back spasms, Anthony stepped up and matched a career playoff high with 42 points and pulled down 17 rebounds.

However, Anthony's outstanding individual effort was not enough as the Celtics hung on for a 96-93 win.

After back-to-back heart-breaking losses, the Knicks head home to the 'Big Apple' for Games Three and Four on Friday and Sunday, needing at least one win to avoid being swept from the first round.

The Knicks clawed their way back to a 93-92 lead with 19 seconds to play before Kevin Garnett dropped the go-ahead basket with 13 seconds left on the clock. He followed that up with a big defensive play at the other end of the court, diving on a loose ball with just four seconds left.

Rajon Rondo paced the Celtics with 30 points.

"We have so many weapons," Rondo told reporters. "Kevin wanted the ball and I told him to be ready and he came through for us on both ends of the floor."

Orlando avoided falling behind 2-0 in their series with the help of a 10-1 run to close the third quarter that gave the Magic a 65-54 cushion.

Jameer Nelson had 13 points for the Magic while Hedo Turkoglu had 10.

Jamal Crawford had 25 points coming off the bench to lead the Hawks and Josh Smith had 17.

Portland were looking to return home with the series tied 1-1, but Nowitzki led the Mavs to a 28-17 fourth-quarter advantage to fend off the visitors.

Stojakovic, who was released by the Toronto Raptors before the Mavericks signed him in January, drained five three-pointers and was a point short of his season-high.

LaMarcus Aldridge paced the Blazers with 24 points and 10 rebounds.

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Celtics rally for spirited victory over Knicks

NEW YORK (AP) – Kevin Garnett had 24 points and 11 rebounds, Rajon Rondo added 13 points and 12 rebounds, and the Boston Celtics scored the final 10 points for a spirited 96-86 victory over the New York Knicks on Monday night.

With blood flowing and bodies flying, the Celtics showed the Knicks they will be tough to beat next month if this was in fact a preview of a first-round playoff series.

Paul Pierce scored 21 points and Ray Allen had 15 for Boston despite a poor shooting night and a nasty cut on his head that briefly forced him from the game.

Carmelo Anthony scored 22 points for the Knicks, but neither he nor Amare Stoudemire had a field goal in the fourth quarter. Chauncey Billups had 21 and Stoudemire finished with 16.

Boston (50-19) matched its victory total from last season after coming into play tied with Chicago for the best record in the Eastern Conference, seizing control in the final minutes with its trademark tough defense the sensational all-court play of Rondo, who made the tiebreaking basket with 3:10 left.

The Knicks lost for the sixth time in seven games and fell to 7-9 since acquiring Anthony last month, and as with Miami's occasional struggles this season, has created concerns about how long it takes a team to figure things out when it has put superstars together.

"Hopefully two, three years," joked Celtics coach Doc Rivers, who has his reasons for that wish.

The longtime Atlantic Division rivals could be headed toward a meeting in the first round of the playoffs. New York entered in seventh place in the East, a half-game behind Philadelphia.

This one started to resemble a playoff scrap in the second quarter. Boston's Troy Murphy had to come out of the game with a bloody nose, and Glen Davis crashed to the court after Anthony caught him in the head with an elbow after grabbing a rebound.

Then Allen had to leave briefly in the third quarter after his head was bloodied by Jared Jeffries' elbow while going for a rebound. Allen wiped blood from his head on the court with a towel, not far from where his mother was seated next to Spike Lee in the front row of courtside seats.

The Celtics took the hits and kept coming, trimming New York's lead to 69-63 on Glen Davis' layup at the third-quarter buzzer. They were down nine after Billups' four-point play with 7:26 remaining but stormed back with 13 straight points, going ahead 86-82 on Garnett's jumper with 4:20 to go.

The Knicks tied it, and after Rondo's layup with 3:10 put Boston back ahead, Anthony was cut above the eye after colliding with Rondo trying to steal and inbounds pass. Rondo came up with it as Anthony fell to the court, then found Davis for a layup and a 90-86 edge with 2 1/2 minutes left.

Pierce knocked down a jumper for a six-point lead, and Allen put it away with a dunk to make it 94-86 with 40 seconds to go. He closed it out with two free throws.

A day after the Knicks managed nine points in the first quarter at Milwaukee, their worst opening period since scoring a franchise-low five on Nov. 21, 1956, against Fort Wayne, Stoudemire had nine by himself after 12 minutes Monday as New York built a 25-22 lead.

The Knicks scored the first seven of the second, capped by consecutive baskets by Ronny Turiaf, to open a double-digit cushion. It grew to 45-30 on Billups' 3-pointer with 3:41 remaining in the half, and the Knicks took a 51-37 advantage to the locker room.

Notes: The teams meet again in Boston on April 13 in the regular-season finale. ... Shaquille O'Neal worked out on a stationary bike before the game, though it's still unknown when he will return from a sore right leg that's sidelined him since Feb. 1. ... The Knicks started Turiaf at center, the third straight game they had a different starter at that position

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Douglas fires Knicks to 3-pt record in Grizzlies

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Toney Douglas shot a sparkling 29-point haul off the bench to help the New York Knicks set a franchise record for three-pointers in their 120-99 rout of the Memphis Grizzlies on Thursday.

The second-year guard Douglas also tied the franchise's individual three-point record, his ninth successful shot landing with 17 seconds to play and handing the Knicks (35-32) their record-setting 20th for the night.

"The dude at the scorer's table just said, 'Hit one more three.' I was like, 'Huh?' I didn't really realize it would tie the (individual) record," Douglas told reporters.

"He just said to hit one more three, but I didn't really pay any mind. I was just playing my game and taking what the defense gave me."

Douglas's shooting masterclass allowed the Knicks to hold on to sixth place in the Eastern Conference with a half-game lead over the Philadelphia 76ers.

Carmelo Anthony added 28 points while Chauncey Billups finished with 18 points and eight assists for New York in his best performance since returning from a thigh injury earlier this week. The Grizzlies (37-32) trailed for most of the match and fell 18 behind after three quarters as their hold on the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference was trimmed to just one game. Mike Conley scored 16 points and had six assists. Zach Randolph put in 14 in the loss, Memphis's third in four games.

New York shot seven three-pointers in the third quarter to keep the Grizzlies at bay.

"We tried to play zone and we tried to go a little smaller, but they're a very talented team and nothing worked for us the two times that we played them," said Memphis coach Lionel Hollins.

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In Anthony's world, trade speculation seems to be everywhere

MILWAUKEE (AP) -- Nuggets star Carmelo Anthony put on a gray Denver sweatshirt and a pair of pricey headphones, then sprinted for the bus. A wrong turn kept him from the door and sent him right back into a wall of questions.

The key figure in the longest-running trade story of the season is just looking for a little peace at this point. He can't watch TV, can't read the news and can't avoid the same questions he simply can't answer right now.

"I really don't know what's going to happen, to be honest with you," Anthony said during a cordial chat after a Wednesday shootaround as Denver prepared to play the Milwaukee Bucks.

Speculation on where Anthony might land keeps intensifying, with the latest rumors continuing to point to the Knicks in a blockbuster deal. Or the Nets. Or the Bulls. Or the Rockets.

Anthony said he's ready for a resolution, even though he insists he's not fretting about what might happen as the Feb. 24 trade deadline approaches.

"I know something will have to happen whether I sign the extension or whether the Nuggets move me or whatever," said Anthony, who is averaging 24.9 points this year. "Something is going to happen, so I try not to stress myself out about it."

That doesn't mean he can avoid the hours upon hours of coverage devoted to one of the NBA's biggest stars. He said he can "see" all the rumors out there, no longer needing to watch the latest television reports.

"I turn on the TV, and I turn it right back off because it's always something, it's always a new team, always a rumor, always this person saying that, that person saying this," he said. "I try not to pay attention to it."

Nuggets coach George Karl believes he, Anthony and the organization all want the same thing, and that Denver will have cap space this offseason to build around the superstar if he stayed.

"I think sometimes he thinks he can be better someplace else. As a competitor, I'd say, 'I think you're wrong. I think the best place for you to be is Denver,"' Karl said. "We'll have space, we'll have the ability to make maneuvers, we'll have versatility in our roster for the first time in at least four or five years next year.

"But unfortunately, free agency, we're at the point where we're at the whim of what's going to happen."

Karl described it as a "weird karma" to be talking about Anthony's status every day and that he probably doesn't tell Anthony about the advantages of staying in Denver enough.

Anthony said his thoughts keep turning to a murky future that he hopes begins to clear in a few days. But first, he'll have to get past at least one more major session with the media over the All-Star break.

"I know they're going to be looking to talk to me. And I'm going to be in L.A. for the All-Star weekend and every media outlet is going to be there, so it's going to be a 'MeloWatch,' I guess," he said.

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Anthony's 27 points lead Nuggets past Mavericks

|DALLAS (AP) –  Carmelo Anthony scored 27 points and the Denver Nuggets went 13 for 21 from beyond the 3-point line in a 103-92 victory over the Dallas Mavericks on Saturday night.
Chauncey Billups added 18 points and Al Harrington contributed 14 points and eight rebounds for Denver.
Jason Terry scored 26 points and Dirk Nowitzki had 23 for the Mavericks, who have lost two of their first three home games.
The teams met in Denver on Wednesday night, with Dallas pulling out a 102-101 victory behind Nowitzki's 35 points. This time, the Nuggets pulled away in the fourth quarter after it was tied at 79 after three.
Anthony hit three 3-pointers in the final 3:47 and scored 15 points in the third, but was on the bench for most of the Nuggets' 12-4 spurt to start the fourth. The run started and ended with dunks by Harrington, giving Denver a 91-83 lead with 7:23 left, and the Mavericks never recovered.
Terry had one point and Nowitzki went scoreless in the fourth quarter.
Denver clung to a 53-52 advantage at the break behind 6-for-9 3-point shooting. Terry's 23 points were among the few Dallas highlights, with Terry draining a 3-pointer with 5.9 left until halftime to get the Mavericks close.
The Nuggets went with a small lineup including 6-foot-9 Sheldon Williams as the tallest starter, and Denver assumed a 26-24 lead after one quarter as Dallas committed six turnovers in the first 12 minutes, 10 in the first half.
Late in the second quarter, Anthony got into a playful exchange with some heckling fans. Anthony was laughing during the give-and-take.
Denver was coming off Friday night's 111-104 home victory over the Clippers. The Mavericks had been idle since Wednesday night.

Notes: These is the 3rd straight game that Denver are without the presence of their three Bigs, Brazilian C Nene missed his third straight game with a strained left groin while Fs Kenyon Martin and Chris "the BirdMan"Anderson are out indefinitely while recovering from knee surgeries.

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